Sid Korpi shows off clay paw prints of her pets, two of which were euthanized at her home, as three-year-old West Highland white terrier Ambrose snoozes on her lap in Minneapolis on Thursday November 3, 2011. Paw prints are, clockwise from left: terrier Ludwig (died in 2005), terrier Mortimer (2009) and tabby Giles (August 2011). (Pioneer Press: Richard Marshall)

Undated photo of Sid Korpi's cat Giles, who was euthanized at home by Minnesota Pets in August. (Courtesy to Pioneer Press: Sid Korpi)

Sid Korpi holds a clay mold with paw prints of her 15-year-old cat Giles, who was euthanized at her home in August, in Minneapolis on Sunday November 6, 2011. (Pioneer Press: Richard Marshall)

When her cat, Giles, approached the end of his life in August, Korpi called on a unique in-home euthanasia service.

Called Minnesota Pets, the St. Paul business does euthanasia – and only euthanasia. It has no clinic to treat animals, just four veterinarians who make about 20 house calls a week, each one ending an animal’s life.

Customers say their pets die more peacefully at home. Korpi said that instead of dying in a clinic, her cat died in her lap, surrounded by love, peace and candlelight.

“There was no stress from cramming him into a carrier. I didn’t want to have to drive him somewhere with tears streaming down my face,” she said.

The idea for the business first dawned on Dr. Rebecca McComas four years ago, as her two beagles aged.

Being a vet, she always planned to euthanize them at home. “I would never consider doing it in a clinical setting,” McComas said. “Then I started talking to other vets, and they said they wouldn’t do that in a clinic, either.”

So, she asked, why would anyone?

She knew that other clinics performed in-home euthanasias but wanted to have the first Minnesota business to specialize in them.

But the business does more than stick needles into dying animals. The vets are expert grief counselors. They dispose of the body afterward. And they offer mementos of the pet, such as a clay imprint of a paw.

The basic visit costs $225, up to $375 for cremating the body and returning the ashes.

McComas helps customers deal with a form of grief that is misunderstood – and underestimated.

When someone’s mother dies, friends and family share the grief. Everyone understands it. But when a pet dies, it’s not the same.

“A lot of clients report that the loss of an animal, for people with a primary bond, is worse than that of a mother, father, sister or friend,” said Lisa Havelin, a grief support specialist with Minnesota Pets.

“It’s incomparable. It’s much worse.”

That’s because pets spend an enormous amount of time with their owners.

“We get used to them. They go in the car with us. We are with them all day,” said Havelin. “We do not spend that much quality time with other people.”

That makes the loss of a pet hard to explain to others. “It’s disenfranchised grief,” Havelin said.

But can’t a person who loses a pet just get a replacement?

“For some people who do not have a connection with the animal, they can say, ‘Fine, I will replace a black lab with another black lab,’ ” Havelin said.

In other cases, the animal-human bond is very strong.

“It’s just like with people. You may have a lot of people in the course of your life, but some stand out,” Havelin said. “I have had animals my whole life, but two or three of them have been especially difficult to lose.”

Linda and Allen Anderson of St. Louis Park realized last summer that their 19-year-old cat, Speedy, was no longer living up to his name.

Bob is a 40-year veteran (yes, he is grizzled) who edited one Pulitzer Prize winner and wrote two that were nominated. He has also worked in Des Moines, Colorado Springs and Palo Alto. He writes about the suburbs, the environment, housing, religion -- anything but politics. Secret pleasures: Kayaking on the Mississippi on the way to work, doughnuts brought in by someone else. Best office prank: Piling more papers onto Fred Melo’s already trash-covered desk.

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